I'm very excited to tell you about new novel. You may recall that surprised us all when he won the Giller Prize in 2006 for his collection of short stories, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. That was a very good collection of short stories but "The Giller?" we all thought, "Really?"
Well the talents of as well as his win are now fully established in my mind after reading The Headmaster's Wager. This novel tells the story of Percival Chen, the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. He is also a bon vivant, a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible womanizer. He is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of the Chen Academy. He is fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, and quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, choosing instead to read the faces of his opponents at high-stakes mahjong tables. But when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage, and Laing Jai, a son born to them on the eve of the Tet offensive. Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further and further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.
The Globe and Mail has already reported that The Headmaster's Wager "has [the] makings of a masterpiece." I don't use that word very much but I can confirm that new novel is a powerful work and one of the best Canadian novels I've read in a while.
Categories: New Releases, Literature, Book of the DayWe're very excited to host, and welcome home, tonight at 7:00 at our Winnipeg store. will be reading from her new book A Thousand Farewells so I thought it fitting that we feature that book as our Book of the Day today. For more information on the event click here.
In A Thousand Farewells, describes with sympathy and insight the myriad ways in which the Arab people have fought against oppression and loss as seen from her own early days witnessing protests in Amman, and the wars, crackdowns, and uprisings she has reported on in countries across the region. A uniquely personal insight into the Middle East from one of Canada's most respected foreign correspondents.
The book was positively reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press this past weekend. Please join us if you can at the Winnipeg store tonight.
Categories: New Releases, Book of the DayIn The Beginner's Goodbye gives us a wise and haunting new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances -- in their house, on the roadway, in the market.
Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, self-dependent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace.
Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye.
A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with humour, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.
Check out the very positive review from last weekend's Winnipeg Free Press.
Categories: New Releases, Literature, Book of the Day
What's your favourite novel? Chances are its his latest book, because after twenty years and over two million words of fiction, the Ottawa Citizen-dubbed "Dean of Canadian Science Fiction" keeps getting better.
On the eve of a secret military operation, an assassin's bullet strikes U.S. President Seth Jerrison. He is rushed to hospital, where surgeons struggle to save his life. At the same hospital, Canadian researcher Dr. Ranjip Singh is experimenting with a device that can erase traumatic memories. Then a terrorist bomb detonates. In the operating room, the president suffers cardiac arrest. He has a near-death experience--but the memories that flash through Jerrison's mind are not his memories.
Publishers Weekly called Triggers "A turbo-charged techno-thriller." Adding "Sawyer offers an escape from the recent run of near-future dystopias in a combination of classic and contemporary science fiction."
Robert J. Sawyer has visited at least one of our locations for each of his book tours since the release of Hybrids in 2003. We couldn't be more pleased to have him launch Triggers, his 21st novel, at McNally Robinson Grant Park Saturday, April 21st.
Read Triggers, and be amazed.
Categories: SciFi & Fantasy, Book of the DayWinnipeg's brings his unique comic sensibility to an outrageously funny portrayal of a generation grappling with the realities of old age in his new novel, Dating. Jenkins never dreamed he'd live long enough to be dating again, but less than two years after his wife's death, he finds himself sheepishly slinking past her portrait to take another woman out to the movies. With good (and sometimes not-so-good) memories of his youth, Jenkins recalls his dating experiences through the decades, and discovers he is still no wiser than a schoolboy. Especially when he learns his high school grad date is back in town and newly widowed.
Dave is a big supporter of McNally Robinson and we had a great time hosting the launch of his book this past week. We urge you to pick up his new book and give it a try.
Categories: New Releases, Literature, Book of the Day| < Newer - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 - Earlier > |
